PATHOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES IN EUROPEAN BISON (BISON-BONASUS LINNAEUS, 1758) WITH SEROPOSITIVE REACTION TO COXIELLA-BURNETII

Comprehensive serological and histopathological examinations of 47 free living European bison (Bison bonasus Linnaeus, 1758) were performed. Of these animals, 36 were serologically positive due to Coxiella burnetii, which confirmed the presence of Q fever epizootic foci in this population of wild animals in Poland. The presence of multiple foci of mononuclear cells typical for Q fever was a consistent finding in all tissues of the majority of C. burnetii seropositive animals under study. Pathomorphological changes observed in myocardium as the focal coagulation necrosis, and in kidneys, resembled the glomerular lesion observed in humans with Q fever, as well as in the experimental Q-fever infections in laboratory animals. These changes were absent in bison showing a C. burnetii seronegative reaction.